Author

Li, Jiangbo

Luan, Xuena

Huang, Yinxi

Dunham, Simon

Chen, Peng

Rogers, John A.

Chan-Park, Mary B.

Date of Issue

2012

School

School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering

Abstract

The key hurdle to the practical use of as-grown single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) for high performance nanoelectronics is the unavoidable presence of metallic nanotubes with current synthesis methods. We present a simple approach to convert metallic SWNTs to semiconducting ones in situ to improve device field effect behaviour, using an aromatic compound (2-ethylanthraquinone - EAQ) which is a mild radical initiator. We show that the reaction between EAQ-generated radicals and SWNTs is diameter and metallicity dependent; in the medium-diameter regime (0.8 to 1.0 nm), the EAQ-generated radicals preferentially attack the metallic SWNTs over semiconducting ones and convert them to semiconducting, as evidenced by several orders (10 and 104) increase in the on/off ratio.